DETECTIVES were today studying a recording of a hoax telephone call that sparked a bomb scare.

Police were alerted by an anonymous call at about 9.30pm on Monday from a man who claimed there was a device in the phone booth he was calling from.

The caller hung up and police traced the call to a public phone in Grey Street, Daneshouse.

Armed police were sent to the scene where they discovered a small black plastic box with wires coming out.

The surrounding area was sealed off and residents warned to stay indoors while army bomb disposal experts were called.

The device was destroyed in a controlled explosion and tests revealed there were no explosives involved.

Crime scene investigators carried out a search of the area and analysed the phone for possible fingerprints to identify the caller. Detectives are now analysing a recording of the call to Burnley police.

The phone box is in a mainly residential area of terraced homes and next to an electricity sub-station. One resident of nearby Hurtley Street, who asked not to be named, said: "It is frightening to think there may have been a bomb so close."

A police spokesman said: "A call was made to Burnley police by a man saying there was a bomb in the phone box. The call was traced and officers deployed. A controlled explosion was later carried out and no explosives were found. It was a hoax."